I want to go as an Earthbender to renaissance festival, and in the case that I can't get ahold of a good pair of shoes for the role, shoes seem to be more optional for earthbenders, and I don't like footwear anyway. Is it safe or allowed to go shoeless to ren fest?

Whether it's allowed or not depends on the rules of the festival you're going to. Safe? About as safe as going barefoot on city streets, probably, with similar minor risks of stepping on broken glass or other sharp things. You won't die.

When I worked at a Renaissance Festival we were told that going barefoot was absolutely prohibited.

There's the usual, mud, woodchips and wooden floors (so, splinters), broken glass, vomit, pee, dog "accidents" if dogs are allowed at the festival, food spills, and more ! Not to mention that it's a high-traffic area and people can and will step on your feet.

I'm a person who sits on public toilet seats, but I would never want to go barefoot in those port-a-potties.

You might not die, but you could end up stepping in some really disgusting things and you could potentially get cut or otherwise injured and that could get infected and generally make your day pretty crappy and be a health hazard for others.

Don't let ballet flats scare you. I will admit they're seriously uncomfortable, though. No arch support in most of them.

If you can't find a minimalist shoe, find a thematic shoe for an earthbender. Look at the style of dress they wear and the shoes the non-benders wear and go for that, instead. I personally enjoy a matching shoe over a minimalist one, in cases like this. Too many minimalist styles are too modern for a costume like this (my tastes only, of course).

And as for whether it's allowed or not, I wouldn't go barefoot in a renfaire and I have calluses thick as shoe leather, for all the reasons listed above.

Those would work really well, but the sizing would be an issue. It says it clear off the bat on the amazon page, and I'm a guy, so the fact that it's a woman's shoe makes it even more difficult.

I don't have much money to spend on this really. I've mostly got a lot of green and brown fabric, gold fringe-highlight material, fake leather, and buckram. I don't want to have to buy much more. The footwear is always an issue with every costume for me...

There are other brands that may have better sizing. The neutral ones could work with other cosplays.

I was cringing at the idea of you wearing ballet flats. They hit me in all the wrong places. I have wide feet and buy guy shoes all the time. It probably works less well the other way around. (A guy buying female shoes.) Good luck.

Half-sole still means half your foot is touching all that listed above. ;p

(also, please don't take my man card but I did ballet and actual ballet shoes are just like... foot bags... they conform to your foot... not great if you legitimately need arch support but otherwise not really any different than going barefoot)

Since you are a dude, just get some of these. Cheap, full-foot protection, should work find with costume.

I'm not familiar with the show, so I was thinking "Toph" and assumed "girl".

I have a similar issue, I'm cosplaying as Inuyasha soon and he doesn't wear shoes. I just recently found a thread on here about how to deal with it and I think the best suggestion there (at least for my situation) was invisible shoes.

I haven't tried it yet but they are basically transparent PVC insoles with mesh fabric straps that you colour to match your skin colour. Here's the tutorial on how to make them if you decide to go for that idea. Anyway good luck

Thank you, everyone. I've seen the invisible shoes before, those are cool. But I've found a solution. I got ahold of some leather boots, and while they're a bit small, I'll cut bits out to make it more of a sandal so it can fit. Anyone have any advice cutting leather?